Nov 22 2008
Making Great Stuffing
Making Great Stuffing really isn’t rocket science. But I guess it helps if your Mother was a good cook to begin with and taught you tips and tricks to her favorite recipes. My version of a great cook is someone who has a basic recipe and can think fast on their feet and improvise that recipe to make it their own. I also know that if the crowd you are feeding comes back for seconds, and raves about your items you just might have something that other people lack. I look forward to Thanks Giving, I love to make Turkey and Stuffing, and I am one of those that makes the stuffing to put inside the bird. I take all the precautions to insure that it is safe, and delicious.
I am giving the recipe that makes really great stuffing here, use it in good health and enjoy. Make it the first time and then when you have had it this way, you can think of all the items that you can add to it next time. That way you don’t get into a rut with the stuffing. I also make this stuffing at other times of the year just to give a break away from Potatoes, or Noodles during the year as far as side dishes.
It is very simple and easy to make:
Celery–3 lg stalks, chopped up Lg. Onion– Chopped up Aprox. 1-2 T. of Oil 2 cans of water chestnuts- chopped up—-set aside 2 rolls of Sage Flavored Mild Sausage 2 lg Loaves of Bread —1 white, and 1 wheat (whatever your preference) 2 lg bags of Cubed already prepared Stuffing mix (herb flavored or plain) 1 egg- slightly scrambled-set aside 1/2 to 1 cup of milk ( I do not measure this, I use my judgement on the milk) Seasonings: Pepper, Salt, Poultry Seasoning, Sage, Thyme, Parsley, Ground Rosemary, All Spice. approx. 1 tsp. ea use your own judgement I use more than that of Sage, Thyme, and Rosemary. You will need a Large, or EX-Large bowl ( I have one of those Huge Metal Bowls that is what I use for mixing this) 1 Large skillet with a lid. WASH YOUR HANDS In the skillet with Lid you take the oil and start your heat to the skillet on Med-Low. To the Oil add your Celery put the lid on and let it start cooking it takes longer to cook. Wait until you can see a color change, it will look pale and limp not quite see through. Add the Onions, and cover keeping the heat down so as not to burn it, keep an eye on it. When the Celery and Onions are almost transparent put them in a small bowl and set aside, use the skillet for the Sausage now. Take both rolls of Sausage and start cooking it, just as you would hamburger meat, take a fork and knife to cut it up as it cooks you want it to be chunky but not fine. Keeping the heat about Med-Low to Low is slower cooking but that way you do not burn the ingredients. When sausage is done browning, drain off the grease, and put the onion, celery mix in with it and stir it up, let it heat just a few minutes. Turn your heat off and set the skillet aside. In the Bowl put 1 pkg. of the cubed stuffing mix, and take the bread and shred and pull off chunks of bread from each loaf of bread I use both Loaves, do this the same way you would for a meat loaf the chunks should not be to big nor to small. Now comes the part that is called common sense, and use your own judgement. In that bowl put the celery, onion and sausage mixture it is still probably warm, if it is hot let it cool slightly. Then add your water chestnuts, the seasonings, the egg, and 1/4 cup of the milk this is where it gets tricky….Depending on how much stuffing you want to have do not add too much milk it makes it too mushy, and if you are putting it inside the Turkey you do not want it too mushy. The moisture inside the Turkey keeps your stuffing moist and the stuffing absorbs the juices from the Turkey as it cooks. Now comes the fun part, just like making a meat loaf……..wash your hands, and remove any jewelry….Use your hands to get into there and mix this up just like meat loaf. At this point you can add more milk as you are mixing….a little at a time. When it reaches the consistency of sticking to your hands in clumps that is when it is just right. You can add more of the dry stuffing cubes to thicken it or Milk to thin it down a bit……USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT. Stuff the bird and do not pack it down in there to tightly, what ever is left can be put in Glass Baking Dish, and baked along wth the Turkey and this pan can be more moist than the stuffing inside the bird because if not it will dry out fast and possibly burn. Use your own judgement on this too. You should be able to easily remove the stuffing, all of it when the bird has been cooked and it has cooled down. It usually comes out in one Clump with little effort. This Stuffing is Usually a big hit with everyone, it takes patience to get the right consistency, and imagination to make it different each time. I add more water chestnuts, or more of any of the spices, and seasonings to make it different, You can also add Rye Bread, or Dark Pumpernickel to give it a different look, and taste. I have used not only bread but left over yeast type rolls, crusty bread, even sour dough. You can add raisins, or cranberries (fresh & chopped) bits of Apple, and walnuts chopped. It is Good every-time. So Enjoy this recipe, and have a Happy Thanks Giving!
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